Top 10 trivial UK shopping facts
With the Christmas rush over, we take a light hearted look at Britain’s quirky spending habits, eccentric shopping purchases and indulgent buys, and find out interesting facts about Britain’s retail landmarks.
1 Marmite mania – like it or not, UK shopper’s remain loyal
In Britain 27 bottles of Marmite are bought every minute. First sold in 1902, the quintessential British condiment was redesigned as Marmite in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012
2 Harrods Animal Purchases – right or wrong?
There have been a number of other unusual purchases made at Harrods, ranging from a baby elephant, subsequently given to Ronald Reagan, to a crocodile bought for poet Noel Coward
3 Anyone for tea?
Nearly 80% of the population enjoys tea, of which 165m cups are drunk each day. The brew of choice with the British royal family is Earl Grey. For a traditional afternoon tea experience head to Claridge’s hotel in London
4 Toy Story
Hamleys opened in London’s Regent Street in 1881 and now has over 5 million visitors a year. This Christmas they anticipated that the top-selling toy will be a doll named Cayla who uses speech-to-text Google software to answer questions
5 Toy Retail Experience Goes Large
Hamleys opened in London’s Regent Street in 1881 and now has over 5 million visitors a year. It now hosts the massive Christmas Toy Parade on Regent Street which has become a true family festive experience and highlight of the London event calendar.
6 Oxford Street the Flagship Store Choice
London’s Oxford Street in the longest high street in Europe and offers 67 flagship stores
7 Luxury at Harrods
The most expensive item sold at Harrods in London was Project Mars, a luxury yacht, complete with private ‘beach’ club and gym costing $165 million! (in second place was an Advent Calendar costing $1 million by Porshe Design).
8 Fortnum & Mason 1st to Sell Heinz Baked Beans
Built in 1707, Fortnum & Mason is one of the oldest shopping destinations in London, helping shoppers with all their luxury food needs. In 1886 it was the first shop to sell Heinz Baked Beans, now considered a British staple
9 Selfridges for Shoes
Selfridges has the largest shoe department in the world, stocking more than 100,000 pairs at any time and selling more than 7,000 pairs of shoes a week
10 Liberty Timbers with History
The distinctive Tudor-style look of Liberty on Regent was created from the timber of two ships: HMS Hindustan and HMS Impregnable
